Peter Capaldi named as 12th Doctor Who

He's Peter Capaldi, a 55-year-old Brit who has good form for the role, having already been on Dr Who and its spinoff Torchwood. The new Who – played John Frobiser in Torchwood's 2009 arc "Children of the Earth" – and popped up as Roman Lucius Caecilius in the 2008 episode "The Fires of Pompeii".

Capaldi has also done British fantasy, thanks to a role in Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere.

A pre-announcement favourite for the role, Capaldi's best known for his acerbic performances on political satire The Thick Of It, during which he once uttered the (NSFW-ish) lines below on the topic of time travel.

Look, half an hour ago you were in with a shot! This is half an hour hence! We've f-cking time-travelled, yes? We're in a weird and wonderful world where everything is different! Maybe outside the polar ice caps have melted! Maybe there's f-cking robots knocking about and Davina McCall is the new Pope! Maybe you can download rice! I want you, right now, to think about your own future, OK? Think about what you are doing, get yourself back on the train to fucking Thomasville pronto, yeah? 'Half an hour'...”

At a rakish 183 cm, Capaldi's just one centimetre taller than his predecessor Matt Smith, to whom he bears a mild resemblance. He is, however, rather older and very considerably greyer. Which could be a bit pervy if writers stick to recent series' levels of sexual tension between the Doctor and his twenty-something assistants.

Fan forums appear, based on our skim of a few, pleased with the appointment.